This recording dates from 2004 and was only released six years
later. One wonders why it has been on the shelf for so many
years. The reason could be that at the time of the recording
no record company saw a market for this repertoire. It is true
that for many years very little attention was paid to the Baryton
trios by Haydn. The commemoration of his death in 2009 seems
to have changed that. Brilliant Classics released a complete
recording of all the music with baryton which Haydn has written.
From that year up until now various discs with music for baryton
have appeared. If you search "baryton" on this site you will
find several reviews of such discs.

Haydn's large production in this department is completely due
to his employer's fascination for the instrument. Although his
playing capabilities were limited his demand for new music was
insatiable. Haydn was one of the musicians at his court who
was expected to provide him with compositions. In order to serve
him to the best of his abilities Haydn learned to play the baryton
himself. During his time in Esterháza he produced more
than 170 pieces with a part for the baryton. Among them are
123 trios for baryton, viola and cello. Obviously the barytone
plays the leading role in these trios but that doesn't mean
that the other two instruments are reduced to an accompanying
role. In his liner-notes Kenneth Slowik rightly points out that
"[the] ranges of the three instruments overlap considerably,
making it possible for each to play, in rapid alternation, the
melody, the accompaniment, or the bass line". It leads to a
very particular sound, with the various lines closely interwoven.

These trios belong to the same genre as the many divertimenti
of the time. But Haydn's diverting music is always more than
just easy listening stuff. He has the unique ability to mix
entertainment, wit and depth in one single piece. The latter
quality is mainly represented by the slow movements which often
take more than half of the time of the whole piece. On this
disc that is the case with the opening moderato from the Trio
in G and the adagio from the Trio in a minor. Lasting
more than 8 minutes the adagio cantabile from the Trio in
D is also by far the longest of the seven movements. This
is a composition of a special character, since it was written
for the birthday of his employer. Here we also find the combination
of wit and depth, the former being represented by the polonaise,
the latter by the adagio and the closing fugue. One doesn't
find often a fugue in diverting music, but Haydn used it more
than once. The Trio in C ends with a fuga a 3 soggetti
in contrapunto doppio. One can't help feeling that this
is an expression of Haydn's sense of humour as well.

All the qualities of Haydn's Baryton trios are conveyed by these
three artists. Their playing is very relaxed and smooth, but
in no way superficial. The depth of the slow movements is fully
explored, and so is the humor and wit. The recording has a great
amount of intimacy which suits this repertoire perfectly. The
programme is nicely put together, combining two of the best-known
trios (97, 101) with the lesser-known Trios 35 and 124. If you
don't know Haydn's Baryton trios yet, this disc offers an excellent
opportunity to get acquainted with them. As this disc is presented
as Volume 1 I look forward to the next volumes.

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